In the recent development, Government of India has extended the submission date for “Aakash” tender to 28 January, 2014 till 2:30 pm.
It has been decided to make available “Aakash” on Directorate General of Supplies & Disposals (DGS&D) Rate Contract, which will enable the Government Departments and individual Institutions to procure the Aakash Tablets without any procedural delays. DGS&D has brought out the Tender Enquiry No AAKASH/IT-1/RC-711B0000/1214/81 on 08th January 2014 for Aakash IV tablet with revised specification for annual rate contracts through on-line open competitive bidding (details can be accessed at www.dgsnd.gov.in). A copy of the same is also uploaded on DeitY website: www.deity.gov.in/esdm.
Detailed discussion was held with all the potential bidders of the Aakash IV tablets. Based on the forum discussions, it was decided to revise the Aakash IV specifications to increase the vendors participating in the tender. The process of getting Aakash logo from CDAC was also simplified and spelt out.
The salient features of the revised specifications are as follows:
i. Aakash is an android based tablet computer with 7-inch touch screen with at least 800×480 resolutions
ii. Memory (RAM):1 GB LPDDR2/DDR3 SDRAM
iii. Storage: Internal: 4 GB with Storage External:- Micro SD Card 2.0 (SD High Capacity) Interface (up to 32GB supported)
iv. Bluetooth & Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot functionality
v. GSM network connectivity through a SIM insertable in to the Tablet with Talk time of 5 hours minimum etc.
The salient features of the testing process to be followed by CDAC before issue of right to use Aakash logo for the vendors tablet is as follows.
i. Pre-qualification testing: Before the vendor is authorized to use the Aakash Tablet logo, the testing shall be carried out for the adherence of the specifications and a report shall be provided to the manufacturer. Once a vendor is authorized to use the Aakash Tablet logo, the validity of the certification will be for three years subject to compliance to acceptance tests yearly.
ii. C-DAC will scrutinize the supplied samples and will provide an acceptance receipt for the Tablets once all the Tablets/documents etc. are received. Once the Tablets have been accepted, C-DAC will test the submitted tablet and will provide the test report at the end of the testing procedure. If the model is tested and found to be compliant to the Aakash specifications, C-DAC will provide an authorized certificate for the use of Aakash Tablet logo. If the model is not found to be meeting the specifications, the test report will provide the details on the failures of the specifications etc.
To provide time to vendors to submit their samples as per the clarifications issued, the bid opening date extended till 28th January 2014. Those interested should refer to the above-mentioned Tender document for full details. For a quick recap, the broad features of the tender process are as follows:
i. The Aakash tablet has to be domestically produced.
ii. The domestic manufacturer of Aakash needs gets the right to issue Aakash logo from CDAC, Pune.
iii. The Aakash tablet should meet the technical specifications as specified for Aakash-IV tablet.
iv. The vendor shall provide repair, service and maintenance support for Aakash Tablets in at least one location in all states and UTs of the country either through themselves or though tie-ups with a third party (NE states, UTs including Sikkim may be treated as one unit for this purpose). Spares shall be made available for at least three years from the date of sale.
v. The bid is restricted to only OEM’s who are PMA compliant Central and State Government Departments and agencies under their control and allowed to buy equipment from valid rate contract vendors without having to go for fresh tenders. Therefore, it is expected that such a process will result in significant demand for Aakash supply in the country.
For more information, please contact S.K. Marwaha, Director, DeitY (Email: smarwah@deity.gov.in)
